Tyre slashers work. The ones that stop petrol station thieves that is. The Blackwall Tunnel is to get its rush hour tidal flow back. The Olympics people are engaging in a bit of financial nip and tuck. Sir Ian Blair wants more of an example to be made of celebrity drug takers. Spending on two years of Caribbean Showcase events in London is to be reviewed by the mayor’s office Boris’ new airport: where......

This Week In London’s History Monday – 19th May 2004: Security at the House of Commons is breached, as two protesters from the ‘Fathers 4 Justice’ campaign group throw condoms filled with purple flour at Prime Minister Tony Blair as he addresses the House. Tuesday – 20th May 1609: London publisher Thomas Thorpe publishes Shakespeare’s Sonnets for the first time, possibly without The Bard’s permission. Wednesday – 21st May 1853: The Aquatic Vivarium, the......

The tussle over the fate of an east end council block stepped up a gear over the weekend, as a heavyweight "starchitect" and a respected art critic both sided with a campaign to save the building. Robin Hood Gardens, a 1972-built concrete block in Poplar, was recently singled out as a failed estate by local MP and culture minister Margaret Hodge, who wants it demolished. However, it has been defended by Richard Rogers and......

Ken hits back at Porsche and tells them to get on their bikes. Or at least to produce some low-emission mean machines. The Osama bin London bunch are jailed. Laid back burglar saunters into Downing Street…and escapes without a custodial sentence. Lib Dem MP for Kingston causes a bit of a rumpus. TfL Mrs. Mops congratulated for Blackwall Tunnel quick fix. Well, it’s good to give our favourite Aunt Sally a positive spin for......

24. Haunted Roads For Halloween! Despite London’s congested roads and the daily chorus of thousands of beeping horns, ghosts of the cities roads are in fact sporadic. Look through any catalogue of phantom hitchhikers or ghostly vehicles (for example http://www.roadghosts.com/) and you’ll notice a distinct lack of activity within the capital pertaining to tarmac terrors. Why this is we’ll never know – maybe it’s simply down to the fact that elsewhere in the country,......

This Week In London’s History Monday – 30th July 1966: England defeat West Germany in the FIFA World Cup Final at Wembley Stadium, claiming the Jules Rimet Trophy (and, of course, the status of Football World Champions for the next four years). Tuesday – 31st July 1962: Violence erupts at a rally of the Union Movement (formerly known as the British Union of Fascists) in Dalston, East London. Sir Oswald Mosely, leader of the......

Off to see Timberlake at the new-look Dome tonight? Make sure you don’t get the wrong venue. The Greenwich attraction isn’t the only O2 in town… The O2, Greenwich Peninsula Function: Entertainment venue, including stadium, 11-screen cinema and exhibition space. Includes Justin Timberlake. Age: 7.5 years. Opened at the end of 1999 as the Millennium Dome, now recalled to life as the O2. Capacity: 20,000 in the main arena. Size: 365 m diameter and the......

With the Millennium and all its bugs naught but a distant memory the Greenwich Peninsula has lain fairly industrially desolate and half done for years, known mainly for the white elephant Dome, the sickly smell of the Tate & Lyle processing plant and the arse end of the Blackwall Tunnel. Life is stirring in North Greenwich though and today saw the grand opening of Peninsula Square, the gateway to the finally reappropriated and rebranded......

This Week In London’s History Monday – 21st May 1853: The Aquatic Vivarium, the world’s first public aquarium, is opened in Regent’s Park. Tuesday – 22nd May 1897: The Blackwall Tunnel is officially opened by the Prince of Wales, becoming the longest underwater tunnel in the world (at the time). The original tunnel now forms the western (northbound) carriageway – the adjacent tunnel that houses the eastern (southbound) carriageway was opened in 1967. Wednesday......

Our weekly roundup of London blogs Our find of the week is The Greenwich Phantom, who writes daily about the goings-on in that borough of contrasts. And as phantoms go, he is vociferous. On the demolision of a Victorian building to make way for a new Terrance Conran pier. It couldn't possibly have been approved because it was designed by Conran could it? Honestly - what was Conran going to say? "No - you......

The congestion zone, bloated and gorged on the wallets of London motorists, finally loosened its belt this morning. A doubling of girth was observed in the ensuing westerly bloat, which takes in some of London's richest inhabitants. Fans of JG Ballard will be intrigued to learn that the area approximating to Chelsea Marina is included on the extreme western fringe, as though on purpose. But what's the reaction? Mixed, of course. And the overall......

This day in London’s History 1897: The Blackwall Tunnel is officially opened. In its day, this was the longest underwater tunnel in the world. And the most expensive at nearly £1.5 million. Many buildings were demolished to make way for the tunnel including, sadly, a former residence of Sir Walter Raleigh. Originally, just one tunnel was built, which catered for traffic going in either direction. Because of increasing road use, however, a second tunnel......

Just on case you missed it in yesterday's news, or you haven't already experienced the 'ensuing chaos' on you way into work this morning: let us bring you up to speed. Yesterday morning at around nine the Eagle Global Logistics warehouse on the Dolphin Industrial Estate at Purfleet, Essex caught fire (resulting in what the papers call "a massive blaze"). As a result the Dartford Crossing bridge and tunnel were closed and the M25......